Be Careful What You Wish For
by Luinlothana
Summary: In the days following Malcolm kidnapping Trixie Chloe Decker tries to put her world in order again and find answers to questions that should probably remain unasked.


Disclaimer: Rules governing protection of intellectual property demand that I declare that, as a creator of the aptly named _fan_ fiction I am writing this story from the position of a fan enjoying the world and characters created by someone else and not, in fact, from that of the owner of said rights. Who, the logic dictates, would probably have better ways of exercising the rights in question than producing stories such as the one below.

Summary: In the days following Malcolm kidnapping Trixie Chloe Decker tries to put her world in order again and find answers to questions that should probably remain unasked.

 _The great advantage in telling the truth_

 _is that nobody ever believes it._

Dorothy L. Sayers

Be Careful What You Wish For

"Mummy?"

Chloe looked at her daughter, the nightlight softly lighting her features.

"What is it, Baby?"

"Do you think I could go to school tomorrow?"

For a moment Detective Decker went absolutely still. It was two in the morning an she was sitting on the edge of Trixie's bed, after yet another nightmare woke her in the middle of the night. She honestly wondered if there would ever be a point at which her daughter would be able to sleep through the night peacefully again. If anything, it didn't seem it would be anywhere in the near future.

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "Would you _like_ to go to school tomorrow?"

"I guess. I haven't seen my friends for _days_. And I'm going to have _loads_ of homework to do if I miss the classes."

Chloe closed her eyes for a moment. True, it had been four days now. And there wasn't really any reason for Trixie to be out of school, other than her own need to have her close to be able to reassure herself she was safe. And while the girl was still traumatised, going back to her daily routine would hardly make things worse. If anything, it could help.

"We'll see in the morning," she finally answered. "If you want to go to school, you will need to be rested. So try and go to sleep now, okay?"

"Okay. And Mummy?"

"Yeah, Baby?"

"I promise I would never go with anyone again unless you tell me it's okay."

She felt her stomach clench. "I know, Sweetheart. You're a very smart girl. But right now you are a very smart girl who is going to be very tired tomorrow, so let's see if we can get you to sleep, okay?"

"Okay, Mummy."

III

Chloe looked as the small figure of her daughter disappeared in the school entrance, trying with all her might not to give in to the urge to run after her and stop her. This was her _school_. Place where she was safe, especially since, after the recent events, there was bound to be a tighter system in place regarding picking kids up. The last thing Trixie needed while she was starting on the path back to her daily routine was her own mother breaking down and causing a scene as soon as she went out of sight.

It was the right thing to do and yet she was having the hardest time right now. And to make it worse, the thoughts she managed to keep at bay by focusing completely on Trixie, were now resurfacing, with the accumulated power of not being addressed for so long.

Chief among them the fact that she yet again witnessed something that was impossible. Or rather, something that _should be_ impossible. Granted, ever since Lucifer appeared in her life she had encountered instances of reality not working quite the way it was supposed to, but this was _big_.

This time it was something _undeniably_ impossible, right in front of her and she was frankly too overwhelmed by it to even give it a thought earlier, choosing to focus instead on something that required her full, immediate attention - namely taking care of her traumatised daughter. But now the overwhelming feeling came crashing back.

She closed her eyes for a second. Why did it have to be _now_ , when her life was crumbling as it was? She needed something to hold on to and what she saw was undermining the very reality itself.

She sighed. She needed to get answers, if only to keep herself from going insane. And there was probably only one place she could get them. She knew that in all the previous instances Lucifer either dismissed her suspicions about him or tried to turn them into a joke, no doubt treating it like some kind of game. But that was just too bad for him.

Because she wasn't about to be satisfied with such answers anymore.

III

She entered the club and headed straight for the elevator, her thoughts swirling. The closer she was getting, the more her resolve was crumbling and she was seriously wondering what she was going to say. By the time the door slid open, she was completely at a loss.

When she took a few hesitant steps into his apartment, she saw Lucifer sitting at his bar, twirling some whisky in a glass. He must have heard her enter though, as he turned to greet her.

"Detective," he smiled charmingly as if seeing her for the first time since the events in the hangar was a completely casual event. "Delighted to see you, as always."

"Yeah, hi. We need to talk," she stated without preface, afraid of losing her resolve.

"Now, I can't really be speaking from a personal experience but it is my understanding that such words are usually followed by bad news," he countered, his voice suggesting that he found the phrase rather amusing and failed to actually be bothered by it at all. "Would you like a drink?"

"I would like some _answers_."

"To each their own, I suppose. What answers did you have in mind specifically?"

"As if you need to ask."

"I do, actually. Not a Jedi, remember?"

"I saw you _die_!" she raised her voice, determined to make him take something seriously for once.

"And?"

She couldn't believe him. "And what?"

"Was there a question in there somewhere? I don't think you actually voiced any."

"Really? You're going there? Fine then. _How_ was that possible? I mean, I saw you. Bullet wound and all, in a pool of blood, completely still, _not breathing_. How did you..." She had a feeling her voice took on a hysterical note towards the end.

"You already know what I'm going to tell you."

"I _was_ kind of hoping for a straight answer this time. I'm really not in the mood for your games."

"There are no games, Detective. I am the Devil. It's as straight an answer as it can get."

"Lucifer, please..."

"You asked for the truth. It _is_ the truth. I told you I wouldn't lie to you, so that's the only answer you are going to get from me."

"You can't seriously expect me to believe that."

"I can only hope you finally will. Honestly, how many times do I need to tell you that, Detective, before you finally believe me?"

"Simple. I'm _not_ going to believe you. I'm not falling for the same thing again."

He seemed surprised. "Again?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember the time you talked me into shooting you. You know, the one you kept goading me about. The funny thing is, for a moment there I actually _did_ believe your whole Devil thing. I have no intention of being the idiot who falls for the same trick twice."

"And what if there is no trick, Detective? I admit, the bout of vulnerability was a bit of a surprise but it doesn't change the facts. No matter how many times you ask, the truth will remain the same. And the truth is that I _am_ the Devil."

"Lucifer..."

"The truth won't change because you don't like what you're hearing, Detective." While a moment ago he seemed annoyed, he somehow went back to his casual tone. His smile was maddening at this point, as far as Chloe was concerned, and his response just crystallised all the fear, uncertainty an doubts that were haunting her for days, forging them into anger. She met his eyes.

"Prove it."

While Lucifer would never admit to being taken aback by a human's words, what he felt right then came suspiciously close.

"What proof can you possibly expect, Detective? You said yourself that you witnessed things that defied any other explanation. There is your proof if you need it."

"No. Just- no. We've been through that and I'm not going there anymore. If you really were who you said you were, I'm sure you could prove it at any point. So I'm asking right here, right now - prove it."

"Detective..." he started and broke off, surprising himself by sounding more hesitant than he expected.

"What? I'm waiting, you know."

Lucifer stood up, placing the glass on the table and watched as she sat down on the couch, crossing her hands. He honestly wondered how to react.

"This isn't a good idea, Detective."

"Perhaps. You know what else is not a good idea? Not knowing where I really stand with anything, after having my life turned upside down."

"And you think _this_ would make it any better?"

"I honestly can't think how it could get any worse."

He felt his anger rise at her remark. "Is that what you're after then? Finding out how much _worse_ it can get?"

"No. What I'm after is finding out how much I can trust the only person I think I still have on my side."

"Detective..."

"So like I said - prove it. Or have you just been amusing yourself by telling me all that? Seeing if I would fall for it again?" She mocked and saw him go still for a second.

He looked honestly offended and hurt, just like he had been when they were trying to arrest him. She was about to admit that she crossed the line and try to apologise, when she heard him speak again, his voice somehow deeper, reverberating in the room.

"I. Did. Not. Lie." Each of his words was accentuated. Chloe could see she hit a sensitive spot. She opened her mouth to try and smooth this out, looked at him... and stilled.

Where she expected to see an angry look of his dark eyes, she was met with fire. Fire that wouldn't let her turn away and kept her captivated. She somehow felt trapped in those flames, as if they weren't limited to his eyes but were surrounding her, promising complete immolation. She had a feeling she couldn't breathe...

"Detective," his eyes went black again and were watching her intently. "Detective, are you all right? Chloe?"

He reached to touch her, but she felt her body flinch automatically. She had a strange feeling she might be shaking.

Lucifer stepped away and was back a moment later with a glass of scotch, which she felt him pressing into her hand. Figuring she really had nothing to lose, she took a big sip. It burned her throat, just like a moment ago his eyes-

She took another just to stop the thought. And then another.

"Feeling any better?" she heard him ask, and her head snapped up in alert, only to see him sitting in a chair facing her. "I told you it wasn't the best idea."

That somehow focussed her mind, as she took another sip. He told her it wasn't a good idea. He was actually trying to _look out for her_. And to be fair, he _was_ telling her who he was from the very start. She finished her drink.

"That was-" she couldn't actually find the words. "You could have given me some warning."

"I suppose I could have," he agreed. "I notice you didn't tell me whether you were all right."

"Ask me again in a couple of minutes?"

"Fair enough. Would you like another drink?"

"No. I shouldn't really have had this one."

"I'm sure under the circumstances you had a right to one," he stated and went to refill her glass, not waiting for an answer.

"You don't get it, do you? Trixie is at school. With Dan arrested and my mother out of town, I will have to pick her up. I _drove_ here."

"I could give you a lift if you like."

"Thanks," she responded automatically before the absurdly normal moment was broken as she was _again_ hit with the enormity of what was going on. Now that the shock of seeing what she did eased up a bit, helped by the alcohol no doubt, the further implications were beginning to set in.

Like the fact that Lucifer proving he was the Devil meant proving that there _was_ the Devil in the first place. And that in turn meant the existence of Hell and, by extension, Heaven and God. Quite a shock to the system for an almost agnostic.

Chloe remembered being a bit uneasy with those implications when she was weighing whether to believe him when they talked in the car, back when- She blinked.

"So how was it possible that I shot you? Or that Malcolm did, for that matter?"

"There are a few fascinating theories. Linda seems to think that I'm subconsciously making myself vulnerable when I'm around you. On a quite literal level, it seems."

"Around _me_?"

"Why not? I believe I did tell you I found you very curious and unique. Besides, this vulnerability thing was rather fascinating."

"Fascinating?!"

This, she decided, was absolutely absurd. How could he possibly _not_ have been alarmed by a risk to himself? Then again, maybe for a moment before the novelty wore off, seeing how he _was_ so old he was practically ageless...

The awareness of the implications hit her once more just as she thought she was starting to get used to it. She drew a shaky breath. Then another. Absently, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she might have started hyperventilating but her mind was a bit preoccupied at the moment with being given a tangible proof of Heaven and Hell being very real to focus on anything else.

"Chloe?" the tangible proof in question apparently decided to employ using her name as means to get her attention.

She didn't even realise he had moved but she was suddenly aware of him sitting next to her, touching her arm lightly, possibly in order to turn her into his direction. He was observing her, with what seemed like concern written in his features.

It suddenly hit her that no matter who he was, ever since she met him, she could count on him having her back. Of course, she could also count on him doing it in the most annoying way possible but that didn't change the facts. And the facts were, through everything, ever since he volunteered himself as her partner, he had somehow become an anchor that she could depend on. Which in turn meant that no matter how overwhelming this news was, she could count on having by her side someone who had already proven himself as a dependable friend, all while being who he was _the entire time_. Whether it was this epiphany or the hastily drunk whisky kicking in was hard to say, but a moment later she took advantage of her position and leaned on him.

"This is going to take some getting used to," she stated dryly and felt him relax a bit, bringing his arms around her.

"I suppose it will," he admitted, causing her to look up at him.

"What? No innuendo? I practically walked into that."

"I thought I would give you a moment or two to get yourself together. Of course then I fully intend to make up for that."

"I bet you do."

Suddenly a thought occurred to her and she started chuckling, earning her a surprised look.

"I just realised," she said, "that I must be the first cop in history to actually _bring Satan_ to investigate Satanists. Talk about a conflict of interests."

"Well, who else would you take? And besides, saying that you work in someone's name doesn't necessarily make that true. You can't _imagine_ the look of surprise on the faces of some of the members of the Holy Inquisition when they realised _where_ they've ended up."

Chloe sighed. Of course, just when she was about to regain some mental footing, he had to go and say something like that. Then again... Saying the most unhelpful thing without being asked to actually _was_ exactly like him. Which in turn made it surprisingly comforting.

"I can only imagine," she muttered absently, slowly relaxing.

III

Lucifer looked at Chloe as she relaxed in his embrace. While he would readily admit she was the most confusing human he had encountered, this was pushing it even by those standards. Unless he was mistaken, she was currently seeking his comfort after being faced with seeing the Devil, which would be a lot more understandable if _he_ wasn't the Devil in question.

"Would _now_ be a good time to ask if you were all right?" he finally asked.

"I guess."

"Now, for the sake of clarity, do you guess it would be a good time or that you are all right?"

"Both, really. At least when it comes to this. Especially since right now I have enough problems without making the fact that my partner actually _wasn't_ lying to me into one."

"You seem to be taking it all rather well," he observed.

Chloe frowned. She was, wasn't she? She blinked trying to get her thoughts in order.

"I suppose. I was trying to think how knowing would change the way I saw you. And I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't, actually."

He was genuinely surprised and briefly focused on trying to decide whether he should be offended or bewildered. "Having a solid proof that you are in a regular contact with the Devil is _dismissible_ to you?"

"I wouldn't say that. But I thought about what it actually _meant_. And the way I see it... Well, there always were things about you that I was aware of that defied any human explanation. I already _knew_ that you have a problem with respecting authority figures, that you have a hard time following instructions and that you have a penchant for finding the _worst_ thing to say. I also knew that you like punishing people and have some _serious_ anger management issues. Which would more or less cover the basics." She looked at him. "As for everything else that's said about you - as far as I'm concerned, until I have a proof to the contrary, I'm treating that simply as hearsay."

"Seriously?" he asked, finally deciding to settle on bewilderment, which reverberated in his voice.

"Yeah. We are friends. What else did you expect?" She paused. "But one day I want to get really drunk and hear your side of the whole story."

"I believe I will be able to oblige you when it comes to both," he responded, giving her a playful smile.

"I'm counting on it."

For a while they sat in silence. Then the moment was broken with Lucifer speaking once again.

"So would you mind telling me what are those problems you mentioned that keep troubling you to the exclusion of everything else?"

Chloe shrunk at the question.

"Well, you know, lots of stuff," she answered evasively.

He wasn't having it. "What stuff?"

She closed her eyes or a second. "You know, _stuff_. Like the fact that we didn't have a full night's sleep with Trixie since the kidnapping. She is having nightmares every time she goes to sleep."

"Have you tried seeking help for her?"

"Yeah. I _tried_. The psychologist working at the station said the nightmares are a normal response when a child is dealing with a traumatic event so I shouldn't worry and that physical comfort is important to help her work through it. Not terribly helpful, as you can see."

"Nothing more?"

"No. Then again, we didn't have much time to talk, which leads me to the second thing. I'm suspended at the moment."

"You are? I thought you didn't have anything to do with what Detective Douche did."

"I didn't. I did, however, fail to report Trixie's kidnapping, despite receiving the news while at the station, opting to go alone instead. And then I was shooting to kill instead of incapacitating him. So yeah, I'm currently suspended until the meeting with the review board. Let's just say it doesn't look very good right now. And since you asked, Dan isn't _suspended_. He is under arrest pending trial. Which, aside from everything else, leaves me alone to take care of Trixie."

Lucifer looked at her as she played with the glass on the table

"I will have to figure my life out all over again," she finally said quietly.

Somehow he had the strangest impression that despite her earlier shock her words had little to do with him.

"What makes you say that?" he asked with honest curiosity.

"Let's face it. Dan's situation looks pretty bad. Even taking into consideration that he confessed, the things he did make it unlikely he would get away with just a slap on the wrist. Which means that even if, after the review, they won't force me to ride the desk for the rest of my career, I'll have a hard time working as a detective and taking care of Trixie alone. I mean, there is my Mum, sure, but you've met her. She isn't exactly the most responsible person in the world when it comes to taking care of Trixie."

"We wouldn't be able to work cases anymore?" he interrupted, not liking where the topic was going.

"Well, _you_ could. You talked yourself into the position of a consultant after all. You would just have to do it with someone else."

"But it would be so terribly _boring_ with someone else."

"I'm sure you could find a way make it equally annoying for anyone. Don't sell yourself short," she managed to shoot back but it didn't sound like her heart was in it.

He frowned. "Are you sure you wouldn't be able to work it out somehow?"

"You should know by now that my job isn't exactly predictable. And I can't very well take her to work with me."

"Why not? It's not like she doesn't know what you do for a living or has never seen a dead body before."

" _Lucifer_!"

"It's a perfectly reasonable solution. Back in the day people would bring their kids to see public executions. Fun for the whole family and such."

"No. _No._ Trixie is _not_ going to work with me. That's final," she took a deep breath to rein in her exasperation. "And if I have anything to say about it, _if_ she is _ever_ going to see a dead body again, it will be when she is all grown up and because she decided to go to a medical college."

Lucifer regarded her or a moment. At least she was no longer miserable. Anger was something he knew how to deal with. Women feeling sorry for themselves in his presence, not so much.

"If you're sure," he paused. "You said it wouldn't be an issue if Detective Douche was freed after the trial?"

"I also said the chances of that weren't all that great at the moment."

"Then I suppose there are a few favours I could call in."

"Aren't there always?" she replied but the smile hesitantly appearing on her face was decidedly an improvement.

"No promising he would be cleared though," he cautioned. Especially since then he would want to go back to work and annoy Lucifer whenever he was working with Detective Decker. Besides he was sure the man would make a name for himself doing say, shopping mall security.

Chloe was still playing with the re-filled glass on the table. Somehow, she decided, this should be weirder. Now that she knew what he was. But for some strange reason, their short _discussion_ regarding Trixie pushed the whole thing back to into equilibrium. As if it made her file away the knowledge in the back of her mind and see him as the Lucifer she came to know for the last couple of months.

"Thank you," she finally said, realising she still had to reply to what he said.

"It's simply the matter of practicality, really."

"Still. Thanks."

III

Chloe sat in the kitchen, staring at her cup of coffee, steam escaping it, forming indefinable shapes above it. She sighed. It would be another long night for her. By this point, she could hardly remember how it felt to have a good night's sleep.

"Good evening, Detective. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

She looked up, to see Lucifer standing in front of her, grinning. She blinked. She was pretty sure she should have heard the door opening.

"Lucifer," she acknowledged, torn between being annoyed by his barging in and grateful for company. "Do I even want to know what you're doing here? And how did you get in here anyway? Or can you shift through walls as well?"

If anything, his grin widened. "Now, Detective, that would be telling. Is the child still awake?"

"She went to bed a moment ago. She didn't really have time to fall asleep and I haven't turned off the light in her room yet. Why the sudden interest?"

"I wouldn't so much call it an interest as a matter of convenience. I stopped by a bookshop on the way here and bought something for her."

She looked critically at the book he was holding. On the one hand, she should probably be thankful he showed enough foresight not to go for anything strictly-adult shades-of-grey-esque, sticking instead more or less to the target demographic. On the other...

"Grimm's Fairy Tales? Unabridged edition? Look, I appreciate the thought but I really doubt that's a good idea right now. She is _already_ having nightmares, remember?"

"Exactly."

"What?!"

"You said she was having nightmares. Do you think telling her they're just dreams is going to accomplish anything? You can't tell her the monsters aren't real - she saw with her very eyes that people are fully capable of becoming monsters in reality."

"And scarring her mentally even further, which seems to be your brilliant idea, is going to help how exactly?"

"I told you, Detective. She already knows the monsters are real. Time to show her the retribution for their actions is as well. I'm giving her over five hundred pages of proof that there are things the monsters are afraid of and that they always eventually receive their punishment. Preferably in the most elaborate manner possible."

Chloe blinked. On the one hand this was so very _Lucifer_. On the other, she couldn't help but think this was him going surprisingly close to admitting his concern for a human being. She considered the implications for a moment. Then she shrugged.

"You know what? Fine. At this point I can't imagine it could actually get much worse. Go ahead and read her one of those."

"You want _me_ to..."

"It _was_ your idea, wasn't it?"

"In principle, yes. But you can't expect me to..."

"I'm sure she would be happy to see you," Chloe silenced his protest, motioning him to Trixie's bedroom and opening the door, rendering any further discussion futile.

While he did look very much unconvinced, he went in, sending her an accusatory look as he did.

"Lucifer!"

He turned to see the girl sitting in her bed, beaming at him.

"Yes, hello, Beatrice. Your mother seemed to be under impression that you might be in need of some company"

The girl giggled. "You are funny," she announced, before her eyes focussed on the book in his hand. "Are you going to read me a bedtime story?"

"As it happens, it was the general idea. No! No hugging," he said firmly as little arms tried to wrap around him. "You are supposed to be lying down."

She giggled again. "Okay."

"That's better. Now, let's see," he opened the book randomly. "Ready?"

The girl nodded.

" _Once upon a time there was a disbanded soldier who had nothing to live on and didn't know what to do with himself. He went into the forest and as he was walking he met a man who was actually the Devil..._ I have to tell you, I like where this story is going."

Trixie giggled some more as Chloe looked from the doorframe as the actual Prince of Hell was entertaining her daughter by reading her a bedtime story. She had to admit, she didn't think her life could get much more bizarre than this. But at the same time she couldn't help but think, that all things considered...

She actually liked it better this way.

THE END

Reviews will be appreciated


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